Babe Ruth documentary wins award

ESSEX FELLS – The documentary film “I’ll Knock a Homer for You: The Timeless Story of Johnny Sylvester and Babe Ruth” won the Garden State Film Festival award for Home Grown Documentary Feature on Sunday, April 7.

The 65-minute film by Andrew Lilley, 37, of Oakland tells the story of an incident during the 1926 World Series, when famed baseball player Babe Ruth promised an ailing boy in Essex Fells named Johnny Sylvester that he would knock a homer for him during Game 4.

Sylvester was Lilley’s great-uncle. He was born in 1915 in Caldwell where he lived before moving with his family to a large house in Essex Fells in 1921. At Essex Fells Grammar School, his baseball skills led to his nickname as the “Babe Ruth Kid” and he was a diehard Yankees and Babe Ruth fan.

While on vacation at the Jersey Shore in the summer of 1926, Sylvester was horseback riding when he was thrown to the ground and kicked in the head by the horse, leading eventually to his being bedridden with an infection and to Ruth’s promise to hit a home run.

“Johnny Sylvester was my great-uncle, and my documentary is the first one ever made on this special story,” said Lilley. “Through interviews with people familiar with the events as well as rare audio interviews with Johnny Sylvester himself, the film sheds light on the promise that became a legend.’

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